Living Life IN God's Faithfulness
In today's post, Living Life IN God's Faithfulness, we will be looking at Daniel to learn how to cultivate a trust in God that steps out IN God's faithfulness.
Living Life IN God's Faithfulness - A Dream
This week I am focusing on the not so talked about verses in the Book of Daniel related to the first dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had.
To give context, King Nebuchadnezzar had recently declared Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, to be wise men in the Kingdom of Babylon, making Daniel the Chief Prefector. As the story continues, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that disturbs him and he cannot find anyone who can interpret the dream for him. The scene played out as follows...
Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time,
that he might show the interpretation to the king.
Daniel 2:12-16
Daniel's boldness here is quite striking, yet he did so with "prudence and discretion" as he approached the King's captain about the decree and asked to make an appointment to show the interpretation to the king.
But wait for it!
Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning
this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed
with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was
revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night.
Daniel 2:17-19a
Do you see that?? At the time Daniel made the appointment with the King to interpret his dream, Daniel did not yet know what the interpretation would be! Yet He trusted the God of Heaven to provide the answer by making his first course of action to ask his three companions to seek mercy from the God of Heaven concerning this mystery. And what did Daniel's faithful God do? He blessed Daniel and revealed the mystery of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in a vision of the night.
Living Life IN God's Faithfulness - To be a Daniel
Oh to be like Daniel. Stepping out in GOD's faithfulness and then seeking Him. What courage! What Trust! What Faith!
I don't know about you, but my first course of action is usually to panic number one. lol. No but seriously! And then my second course of action is usually to complain, become agitated, fret and worry. My third course of action is trying to solve the problem myself. Then when all these things inevitably fail, I will finally go to the Lord in prayer. Can anyone else relate to this?
How much agony would I prevent, if I would operate in God's faithfulness! Trusting His mercy and His goodness and His wisdom for whatever situation I am facing. How blessed I would be, what peace I would have and how useful I would be for the Kingdom of God.
Living Life IN God's Faithfulness - A Declaration
And then we come to what I see as a beautiful prescription for prayer as Daniel blesses the God of Heaven for answered prayer that he already KNEW would come...
Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."
Daniel 2:17-23
Here we see Daniel's beautiful and special God-glorifying relationship with the God of Heaven. Not only does Daniel bless God in the answer, but indeed, he blessed God in the waiting by expecting God to answer.
Through this prayer of Daniel, we see him remembering God's wonderful attributes, we see him acknowledging God's promises, we see him recognizing who God is in every facet of His being and we see him thanking God for the specific answer which becomes a stone of remembrance in a long list of God's faithfulness to Daniel.
I want to get practical here. Anyone who has studied learning styles knows that each of us have a certain way that we learn. Some of us by repeating something out loud, others of us by writing something out, others by listening and others through motion. Each one favors one certain learning style and each one of us does not do well at all with another one. However, a majority of us can benefit by employing several learning styles.
Like me, for instance, if I write something down, it stamps onto my brain. lol. However, I cannot learn anything by merely listening to something - like a podcast or a radio lesson. (I'm fine if I can see you talking and teaching, and even then I can struggle, but no one to watch and it's usually a no go. lol.)
I learned during homeschooling that if I allowed my son to do jumping jacks while reciting his multiplication tables, he memorized them very quickly!
But I think there is something to be said about saying something out loud and/or writing it down. I think we ALL can benefit from that type of reinforcement. I may be wrong, but at least in my experience that has been the case with people other then myself.
That's why I believe it is so important to restate back to God His faithfulness each day.
to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
Psalm 92:2
Living Life in God's Faithfulness - Stones of Remembrance
I recently received a gift from a dear friend of a prayer journal to record my prayers and then go back to write down his answers. This is another beautiful way to stack up stones of remembrance about God's past faithfulness so that we will operate in God's faithfulness every second of every day.
Every stone of faithfulness we place builds up a fortification that cannot be torn down when the fiery trials assail. You are hemming yourself in to God's faithfulness and care which cannot be penetrated by the evil one.
Living Life in God's Faithfulness - Expectant Hope
When we seek out the Lord in the manner that Daniel did, we can expect that God will...
- reveal deep and hidden things
- give wisdom and knowledge
- show His Sovereign care
Oh what a faithful God we serve!
For more posts related to God's faithfulness, please click on the following links:
May we all live life IN God's Faithfulness, for He is ever Faithful.
You might find me on these link-ups:
Grace & Truth, Woman to Woman Ministries, Inspire Me Monday, A Wise Women Builds Her Home, Spiritual Sundays, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, Tell His Story, Faith & Fellowship Blog Hop, Tuesday Talk, Faith 'N Friends, Sitting Among Friends House to Home ,Wonderful Wednesday , Literacy Musings Mondays,Imparting Grace, Dance with Jesus, Booknificent Thursdays , Fresh Market Friday Moments of Hope Wonderful Wednesdays , Tea & Word Tuesday Heart Encouragement Thursday Hearts for Home Messy Marriage Link-up Friday at the Fire Station Link-up Tune In Thursday Faith on Fire Link-up, Sunday Scripture Blessings Link-up, Sunday Thoughts, Writer Wednesday, Faith Filled Friday God Sized Dreams Link-Up Sitting Among Friends Be Thee Inspired Graceful Tuesday Link-up Aprons & Pearls Link-up Trekkingthru Link-up Encouraging Word Wednesday Grace Moments Link-up Encouraging Hearts and Home Worth Beyond Rubies Seeking Sabbath Scripture and a Snapshot IHeart Verse Welcome Heart Kingdom Bloggers Outdoorsy Mommy Anchored Truth Tuesdays IHeart Verse InstaEncouragements
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful that God's grace & blessings are new every morning!
You're most welcome to drop by for a cuppa,
Blessings,
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer, Indeed!!
DeleteI always enjoy my visits at your place. :-)
Thanks so much for stopping by.
I loved reading your posts about God's faithfulness, dear friend. SO thankful He loves us always, in spite of our shortcomings, and He is ever faithful, no matter if we are faithful to Him or not. Such an awesome God we have! Sending love and hugs your way!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl! That is definitely something I am learning more and more, that He does love us despite our shortcomings. I came out of a very legalistic background early on in my Christian walk and I am realizing it shaped much of how I relate to God, and not in a good way. I am realizing through journaling that it may be the root of my anxiety and lack of trust in God at times and my doubting, because I was taught that He is a harsh taskmaster and that there are rules.
DeletePraising God for His loving Grace and Amazing Love!
Thanks so much for always leaving such encouraging comments for me. Your friendship means so much to me.
Sending hugs and love right back at you! :-)
Oh yes... I love that you pointed out the great faith of Daniel --in making an appointment to interpret the dream for the King before he actually had the interpretation! May we be as bold and courageous --as sure that He will answer as Daniel was! (And may we remember the power and importance of prayer support, as well!)
ReplyDeleteHi Karrilee, Amen!
DeleteThanks so much for contributing to the conversation. I appreciate it!
And thanks so much for stopping by. :-)
I am studying the life of Mary, think she was overjoyed and wanted to please God but could she have ever imagined what was going to happen? He is faithful, even in trials.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca, Indeed He is faithful, especially in trials.
DeleteThanks so much for stopping by. :-)
I love the idea of stones of remembrance. I actually did a study by that name by Lois Evans (I think) years ago. It was a very good study. It is so good to be mindful of the Lord's faithfulness to us! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, Oh! Very interesting!
DeleteIt truly is! There are so many examples of the Saints before us being encouraged by remembering God's past faithfulness.
You are very welcome.
I can relate to the first step being panic! What a beautiful story of faithfulness and allowing God to provide.
ReplyDeleteHi Anita, Glad I'm not alone. lol. And praise God His grace covers us even if we choose to panic first. :-)
DeleteThanks so much for stopping by.
Oh, yes! I want to learn to seek God like Daniel. We do have an awesome, faithful God. Thanks for sharing. Blessings to you and you!
ReplyDeleteHi Mari-Anna,
DeleteYou are very welcome. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Blessings to you too!
God has proved His faithfulness to me over and over and over again in my life. You'd think I'd easily have the faith of Daniel when problems arise, but alas, I will still sometimes try to solve those problems on my own before seeking Him. I wholeheartedly agree with writing down our prayers and our blessings. Yes, there's something about writing things down that solidifies them in our minds and hearts.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, Praising God for your wonderful testimony of God's faithfulness to you.
DeleteYes, we are a forgetful people. Thank you Lord for your patience and faithfulness that isn't dependent upon our walk but on who You are.
Thanks so much for sharing and for stopping by. :-)